Tuesday 7 October 2014

Electrickery

Understanding batteries is a black art however, Mr Peukert came close to understanding them. So here is a simplistic way of understanding how a battery works. Done by using water in a tank as an analogy.
  • I have a 100 gallon tank that holds a hundred gallons of water. 
  • The tank is the battery and the water is the electricity.

Charging my battery / filling my tank.
  • Charging a battery takes place at a rate that varies. 
  • The closer I get to full charge the slower the battery will charge to full. 
  • An empty battery will charge at a faster rate than a full one.
  • To fill my tank up at 10 gallons and hour will take about 14 hours. This is because some unseen person (Mr Ohm) slowly closes the inlet tap as the tank fills. 
Using power from my battery / using water in my tank.
  • Although I have a 100ah in my battery when its full to capacity, I can never get 100ah worth of electricity out. 
  • The outlet pipe in my water tank is not in the bottom of the tank, it is connected on the side. When the water falls below the level of the connector there is no water above the pipe even though there is water in the tank. 

Battery magic / water magic.
  • The faster I use the electricity from the battery, the less electricity I will get out.
  • To remove water from the tank at a faster rate - I have to use a bigger pipe the larger the pipe connector that is needed to attach the pipe the higher it has to be connected towards the top of the tank.
More battery magic / more water magic.
  • Even if a battery is left disconnected it will over time discharge itself, the electricity will leak away.
  • If the water in my tank is not used, it will slowly evaporate.

If my battery cannot supply all my needs / My water tank is not big enough.
  • Use two batteries connected together.
  • Use two water tanks connected together.

My battery still cannot supply all my needs / My water tank is still not big enough.
  • Use four batteries connected together.
  • Use four water tanks connected together.. 

My lights dim when I use a lot of power / The water slows out of the tap if I have many taps open.
  • Use thicker wires.
  • Use bigger pipes.


Later....


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